FX is no stranger to period pieces. From Black Narcissus to The Americans, the network has been everywhere from the 1940s to the 2020s. At the same time, FX has also explored a variety of science fiction concepts, from Alex Garland’s deterministic Devs to The Strain, a take on vampirism as an ancient virus. But what if there was a show that combined the two genres? What about a time-traveling thriller that combines romance elements and an exploration of racial history? Well, you’re in luck.

Kindred is an upcoming FX series announced in October this year, per Deadline. It will be an adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s titular novel, spanning eight episodes. The show will be made with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as showrunner, a playwright whose prior work includes the Pulitzer-finalists Gloria and Everybody. He will also be executive producing the show along with Darren Aronofsky and a handful of others.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Here’s everything we know about FX’s Kindred.

Kindred: The Plot

The plot summary provided by FX for Kindred’s trailer is as follows:

If you’ve seen Antebellum, this premise may sound a little familiar. However, whereas Antebellum wholly took place in the present, Kindred will periodically place Dana in the actual nineteenth century – a deliberately more fantastical approach to the concept.

“As Dana, a young Black woman and aspiring writer, begins to settle in her new home, she finds herself being pulled back and forth in time, emerging at a nineteenth-century plantation and confronting secrets she never knew ran through her blood. "

In keeping with the brutal tone of the original novel, it looks as though Kindred won’t spare the viewer any of the atrocities that befell the slaves of America. Heavy use of darker colors, a predominant nighttime setting, and frequent close-ups of Dana’s screaming face in Kindred’s trailer imply a deadly-serious mood.

Speaking of which, it appears as though the series will take place in 1976, just as the original story did. There’s nary a smartphone in sight. Someone can be seen wearing an X-Ray Spex shirt – the X-Ray Spex is a London-based punk band formed in 1976. As they’re sitting on a hillside, gazing over the skyline of Los Angeles, a 1970s-style car can also be seen. If you were expecting a modernization of Butler’s novel, you might want to temper your expectations.

In addition, if you’re expecting a Star Trek-style analysis of how and why Dana can travel back in time, you may be slightly disappointed. Octavia E. Butler may have been a science fiction author, but in her own words, Kindred is not explicitly a science-fiction story. Instead, she has described it more as a “grim fantasy,” where the science fiction elements serve the story rather than defining it. Seeing as how the original Kindred novel was acclaimed for its realistic depictions of slavery and discussions of historical amnesia, those topics are clearly the focus of Butler’s work. Don’t expect a breakdown of how matter can travel across time.

Kindred: The Cast and Crew

     FX

The leading role of Dana will be played by Mallori Johnson, a relatively unknown actress who had a role in the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed. Joining her will be Micah Stock, her partner in the modern day, who is most likely known for his recent stint on the Netflix series Bonding. The Weylins – Thomas and Gayle – will be played by Ryan Kwanten and Gayle Rankin, respectively. Viewers may recognize Kwanten from his leading role as Jason Stackhouse in HBO’s True Blood, while Rankin drew attention for her role as “Sheila the She-Wolf” in Netflix’s GLOW.

The supporting cast includes David Alexander Kaplan, Louis Cancelmi, Drew Matthews, Cherrie McRae, Britt Douyon, and a handful of others. A wide variety of talent must be on offer here, as we’ll be jumping between contemporary and historical settings seemingly at random.

As for the crew on Kindred, all eight of the series’ episodes have been written by Matthew Shire, most known for his work on Netflix’s Trinkets series in addition to writing for Shrek Forever After. Cybel Martin and Anka Malatynska will be handling Kindred’s cinematography, with 2022’s A League of Their Own, American Horror Stories, Monsterland, and 2021’s I Know What You Did Last Summer as previous works handled between them.

Release Date

All eight episodes of Kindred will premiere on Hulu on December 13th, 2022.

Everything Else

This series marks the first on-screen adaptation of Kindred, with previous adaptations being both an audio play and a graphic novel. Butler’s other works – including the Patternist and Lilith’s Brood series – dive much deeper into the science-fiction genre, featuring extraterrestrials, telepathy, and explorations of traditional science fiction concepts from her own unique perspective.

Should FX’s Kindred be successful, it may spawn an interest in adapting more of Butler’s work in the future, as well as bolstering the careers of both Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Mallori Johnson in the streaming world.